NBA Rumors: Ayton's Hopes Of Getting Max Deal Won’t Happen In Phoenix

It appears that Deandre Ayton’s days with the Phoenix Suns will come to an end soon. The 23-year-old is due to a max contract but if anything near that happens, it may be with another team.

Ayton was one of the players who was eligible for a max contract extension but never got one. Instead, that means the top pick of the 2018 NBA Draft would end up being a restricted free agent this offseason.

However, there were a lot of controversies in play – particularly during Game 7 in the Suns’ Western Conference semifinal duel with the Dallas Mavericks.

The 23-year-old was benched at some point but most noticed the verbal altercation between him and head coach Monty Williams.

That has since become the highlight of Phoenix’s exit this NBA season with most playing the guessing game on where Ayton could end up for the 2022-23 wars.

But in a report from Jake Fischer of The Bleacher Report, it appears the Suns and Ayton are done.

With Ayton expected to command a maximum salary, league executives believe feel that matching big money offered by other teams may not happen.

“The recent Williams dynamic may simply echo consistent word—dating back to the trade deadline—from league sources with knowledge of the situation that Ayton is not particularly a favorite of Phoenix’s head coach. Williams has purportedly griped about Ayton’s waning focus, which some people contacted by B/R said has often been reflected by the ebbs of his playing time,” the sports scribe wrote.

Adding the facts, there is reason to believe that all is not well between Ayton and Williams. But will this justify losing perhaps one of the best centers on the team for the next NBA season?

Phoenix has JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo in the mix, players who had a fine season with the team. But it remains that Ayton is a player on the rise, someone who can improve with some work.

It appears that for now, Phoenix may not be too open to spending too much money on Ayton. They will be capped out even if the 6-foot-11 cager leaves. It is a tricky predicament but the coach-player relationship could be the deciding factor.